Not all love films are all sunshine and roses – even if the title is “Forget Me Not!” The slightly confusing love story begins with a separation and a reconciliation that raises more questions than it answers. Of course, it raises a question that is as old as time itself: Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?
For the main character Clementine (Kate Winslet), the answer is surely the latter… at first. Unluckily in love, the woman decides to undergo a procedure that will remove all memories of her ex Joel (Jim Carrey). Not to be outdone, he decides to follow in her footsteps, although he regrets the operation almost immediately and tries to hide the memory of her in other, unrelated moments of his life.
The story unfolds in a fog of memories as fans must figure out what happened when, what’s true, and whether history is doomed to repeat itself. At the same time, the couple must decide if starting over can lead to a happy ending, without the baggage the duo carried with them on their first attempt.
Of course, the film isn’t the only novel to experiment with memories, deep concepts, and murky timelines. Here are the seven best movies like “Eternal Flame” to stream.
‘Her’
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Hey, Siri, let’s define the relationship. With the rise of AI comes the growing trend of artificial intelligence-powered robot romance movies. Spike Jonze’s 2013 film Her features a mustachioed Joaquin Phoenix (Theodore) whose breakup leads him to turn to an unlikely ally: his phone. Except there’s no other person on the other end of the line. Scarlett Johansson plays Samantha, the AI who starts a relationship with the lonely almost-divorcee.
Although the film doesn’t necessarily have a mind-bending element like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Her” raises philosophical questions about the nature of love and relationships in a science fiction-inspired world with a dash of ethereal vibes.
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“500 Days of Summer”
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We love a good non-linear storyline. 500 Days of Summer, of course, focuses on… 500 days of Summer’s (Zooey Deschanel) life and love. Although she initially has no intention of settling down and getting into a serious relationship, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character Tom is adamant and won’t leave her alone until she goes out with him.
Even though Summer makes her boundaries clear, Tom continues to push for the kind of relationship he wants. As with Eternal Flame, you’ll wonder more than once why these characters are even together as the memories of their budding relationship and its end play simultaneously on the screen. 500 Days of Summer also has some trippy elements as a clueless Tom tries to figure out exactly what went wrong.
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‘Blue Valentine’
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In “Blue Valentine,” Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Michelle Williams (Cindy) aren’t exactly experiencing domestic bliss years after their wedding. The film begins in the present day, when it becomes clear that the couple are having marital problems while trying to stick together for the sake of their daughter Frankie (Faith Wladyka).
At the beginning of the film, there are flashbacks to the development of their relationship, interwoven with their current marital problems, plagued by unfulfilled dreams, arguably too much alcohol, and pent-up animosity. While there was clearly a lot of love involved at the start of their relationship, they certainly rushed things and their compromises caught up with their attempts at happiness. There were also a fair number of warning signs, as Dean has trouble accepting the word “no” from start to finish. As memories of their life together play out onscreen, the couple must decide if their marriage is worth fighting for or if they should throw in the towel.
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“The last five years”
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It’s particularly heartbreaking to watch a love story unfold from both its beginning and its end. In The Last Five Years, Anna Kendrick’s character begins Cathy’s memory of her relationship with Jamie (Jeremy Jordan) during their divorce, while Jamie sets things in motion chronologically. The devastation from Cathy’s perspective is in stark contrast to Jamie’s sheer joy at the start of their relationship, resulting in a film full of emotional whiplash that explores the impact of memories and alternate points of view.
Of course, The Last Five Years is a musical that features some of the most infectious and entertaining love songs (“Shiksa Goddess, The Schmuel Song”) alongside the most devastating ballads (“Still Hurting,” “See I’m Smiling”) that the genre has to offer. When you listen to the love songs, it’s easy to forget that the relationship is doomed, and when the songs about heartbreak come, it’s hard to remember that these two people were once incredibly happy. Even though you know the punch line, you still want everything to be OK.
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‘Flashback’
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When it comes to confusing indie films with crazy timelines, Dylan O’Brien’s Flashback is as off-kilter as it gets. The film focuses on O’Brien’s character Fredrick Fitzell, who goes from American office drone to the troubled visionary of Cindy (Maika Monroe) – a girl who disappeared during high school. In this case, her identity may be a little closer to him (literally) than he could have imagined.
The 2020 film plays with time travel, intertwined timelines, and the analysis of memories. Of course, O’Brien’s convincing and intense acting choices make the film worth watching on its own, even though people criticized the confusing nature of the film.
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“Requiem for a Dream”
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The dynamics of family relationships are just as important as those in love, and Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream plays with that concept. It’s by no means a lighthearted film, though. The ensemble film is just as trippy as the addictions and mental illnesses the characters face that prevent them from escaping poverty and pursuing their dreams.
Like Eternal Flame, the film explores the concept of inevitability and how relationships (platonic or otherwise) make us who we are. We also get a lot of unreliable narrators and memories that we can’t quite trust.
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‘Vanilla Heaven’
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Sometimes we learn about a person’s past through a memory-wiping procedure for an ex, and other times an inmate tells his life story to a prison psychologist. There’s nothing like a spurned lover, which David (Tom Cruise) learns the hard way in Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky when his girlfriend Julie (Cameron Diaz) intentionally causes a car crash, leaving him permanently disfigured.
But this stunning film has more to offer than meets the eye. Also is about a somewhat shady company that manipulates people’s minds. While David distinguishes between the real and the unreal, so does the audience. Sometimes it’s not entirely clear whether it’s a science fiction or fantasy film.
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